Sony announced on Thursday it will launch a new company focused on creating games based on characters from its line-up of PlayStation properties for mobile devices.The company, named ForwardWorks Corporation, will begin operations on April 1.Also on that day, Sony will change the name of its Computer Entertainment division to Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Atsushi Morita, who served as president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, will serve as ForwardWorks president.

Games developed for mobile devices will initially be available in Japan and Asia.This is not the first time Sony has attempted a push on to smartphones and tablets. In 2012, the company launched PlayStation Mobile. Games worked on devices such as PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, but also ran on "PlayStation Certified" smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system.That program shut down last year.

Sony's move onto mobile follows Nintendo launching its first app in Japan for smartphones.Miitomo is a social app where users create Mii avatars – first available through Nintendo's Wii video game console – and then share details about themselves with friends.